Thaw
by NitnatRide
Summary: Someone from Gray's past comes to Fairy Tail. Was/Is there something between them? How do they know each other? What happened to them? And what does the new-comer do when Phantom attacks her new guild? Slight Gray OOC. Gray/OC
1. New Recruit

**Hey there, all faithful and first-time readers! Glad you chose to click on my little link, and I really hope you enjoy this fanfic. If you think it's good enough to deserve it (or bad enough!) feel free to review. Constructive criticism is welcome too :)**

**Just FYI: this story starts just before Phantom starts its attack on Fairy Tail. Hope that makes sense with the plot. It'll follow the more or less same plot as that section, possibly with a few deviations, but I just wanted to introduce my OC first before I throw her directly into the action.**

**Alright; enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: New recruit**

**Gray's POV**

The best thing about taking all those dangerous requests, like Galuna with Deliora, is that all the other requests seem so _**easy**_ now that we've done them.

Stretching to relax my muscles after a minimal amount of fighting on our last job, I walk back to Fairy Tail down the streets of Magnolia, as Lucy starts dividing out the eight thousand jewel reward between us. I ignore Natsu as his excitement for getting money makes him even louder and more obnoxious than usual (I didn't know that was possible). Erza trails a little behind with her humungous luggage cart. (Seriously, she Requips all her outfits and weapons, so what the hell else does she need to pack?)

In an attempt to drown out Natsu's annoyingly loud cheers and self-absorbed compliments that he had done all the work on this job, I start whistling to myself. As I just chose the first tune that came to my head, it's not until halfway through the piece that I realise it's _Teviot__Bridge_, one of my traditional childhood songs. Nostalgia washes through me as I remember the annual festival, where I first properly danced to this song…

"Hey, that's pretty, Gray," a voice interrupts my trip down memory lane. "What song is it?"

"Huh?" I look at Lucy who's smiling at me. "Oh, just a song I used to know."

"Come on, Lucy; share it out already!" I never thought there would be a time when I'd be grateful for Natsu's big mouth, but he distracts Lucy enough that she doesn't ask anymore. Happy, flying by Natsu in silence since we got off the train, helps to keep her distracted by cheekily asking about how much he's receiving. I hide my smirk from Lucy to prevent myself getting hit.

As we round a corner from the station and enter the main commercial part of Magnolia, the number of people seated at the tables outside the cafes this afternoon marks the start of the Spring season as the weather makes it comfortable to do so.

While I'm gazing around at these streets that have been my home for many years now, I catch sight of a girl about my age skipping out from behind Erza to overtake her on the other side of the street, her full-looking backpack indicating she has just arrived on a train herself. I glance over my shoulder in curiosity as to why she had to cross the street to do so before I smile slightly and roll my eyes at my scary friend; her luggage cart is taking up the entire sidewalk, leaving no room for overtakers.

"Hey, sweet-cheeks, want to meet up tonight for a good time?" I never realised there could be such pig-headed, perverted and down-right rude guys in the world.

We all stop to turn towards the table of half-drunk animals roaring their heads off with laughter, and I prepare myself for a good performance of their faces being intimately introduced to Erza's fist. But I start, and I can see the others doing the same when we realise the direction they're facing indicates they weren't talking to Erza, or even Lucy; they were shouting at the girl across the street. But if that surprises me, her reply is unbelievable. She doesn't even stop walking or glance in their direction while she says: "Call me when you've learnt basic hygiene."

I try to stop my reaction; I know if I respond to the foreign-sounding words that my friends heard – rather than the automatic mental translation that I performed – they would draw the conclusion that I could understand the different language the girl had used. And that would raise more questions about my past that they knew nothing of until recently.

My attempt fails though; two loud laughs escape me before the suppressed remainders rack through my body, shaking it so hard that I know I may as well let them out for all the hiding it does.

The girl starts at the sound, turning with a surprised expression to our group. The highly amused grin on my face probably gives away the fact that I was the one to laugh at her joke. Suddenly her expression morphs into teasingly accusatory, and she turns back across the road to stop in front of our group, arms folded. The first time since I noticed her, I get a good look at her, and, horrifying myself, the first thing to come to mind is "I can see where those animals are coming from." As the girl comes to a stop in front of us, her umber brown waves bounce just enough to add a certain cuteness to her look, without taking any of the "dangerous" vibe out. Creamy smooth skin covers her complexion, and her full lips are cracked open in a cute, amused and teasing smirk. Worn brown travelling clothes adorn her body with study-looking walking boots on her feet. But her eyes…wow. Just wow; the brilliant green of the trees in the East Forest shimmers out from those two orbs, almost stunning me. Trying to play it cool I place my hands into the pockets of my coat and wait, still smiling and eyebrows raised.

Thankfully, she uses a language that the others can understand this time. "You know Carain." **(Pronounced**** "****car-AYN****"****)**

Her tone doesn't require an answer, so I shrug in acceptance.

"Which city are you from?"

My smile slips slightly at her question; this one demands a reply, and I'm also reluctant to tell her my origins. In the area I come from – the Cara, hence the name of the old language – Deliora only destroyed two of the eight cities in that space, missing the six in its progression by some sick chance. Although, I would never wish my past on anybody.

I opt to tell this stranger, but sincerely hope I won't receive pity. "Kria." **(Pronounced**** "****CREE-ah)**.

She gives a sad smile that I knew I wouldn't have been able to avoid, and I steel myself for the "condolences". But she surprises me yet again; she pulls a hand up and lays the fingertips on her breastbone. "Darli." **(Pronounced**** "****dar-LEE****"****)**.

My eyes widen slightly as she names the other city that was destroyed. As a reaction to the swift guilt that comes over me, I open my mouth to say 'I'm sorry'. But I stop just before I voice the words; if I hadn't wanted to hear them, do I really expect this stranger to? It would be unfair to subject her to something that she has spared me. So I close my mouth awkwardly, embarrassment making me duck my head and look at her apologetically through my eyelashes. Her smile changes slightly, and I recognise the gratefulness in there.

Her eyes suddenly widen, not looking at me anymore, but focussed somewhere behind me. Her smile widens and excitement flares in her eyes, her fists gripped in front of her face in enthusiasm with the brown leather fingerless gloves stretching over her skin.

"You're from Fairy Tail?"

Turning around, I judge her gaze to be at Lucy's hand, where the Fairy Tail mark is printed. Lucy grins at the girl.

"Yep. We all are."

"Awesome! I'm heading there now; I hope that I'll get enrolled."

Natsu chuckles, holding his thumb up to her. "If you're any decent wizard, you'll be enrolled."

The teasing glint returns to her wonderful eyes. "Loads of people were saying the same about Phantom."

My hands curl into fists inside my pockets and Natsu loses his smile fast as the stranger mentions the evil guild. Her expression confuses me though; despite her supposed interest in Phantom, she seems to be winding us up in anticipation for a later expected reaction, rather than the malicious sizing up that Phantom members would do. I narrow my eyes at her, silently telling her to continue.

"They say Phantom breeds the best wizards with the largest amount of power," she tries to suppress a smile. I can feel both Happy and Natsu itching to intervene and defend our guild, but his curiosity keeps even him quiet.

Then: "I say it breeds the biggest assholes with the largest egos."

A second of silence. That's how long we last. The next, all of us, Erza included, are practically rolling on the floor in the middle of the street, laughter bursting from our bodies. I can feel tears of the best pain in the world running down my cheeks as the muscles in my sides burn from so much movement and as my lungs fail to take in enough oxygen. The rush of those "happy chemicals" magnifies the elated feeling. Man, I'd forgotten how great it was to laugh like this.

Finally, when we've all calmed down enough to remain stable on our feet, Natsu walks up to the girl, still chuckling, and puts an arm around her, winking at her.

"Oh yeah," he laughs. "You're definitely enrolled."

The girl giggles at her own joke and our reaction before Natsu releases her. "I'm Natsu." He gestures to his friend still in the sky. "That's Happy."

"Hi," the cat says.

The girl's expression shifts to surprise and then to adoration as she fawns over the talking cat, saying how he's "the cutest thing". Oh, trust me, mystery girl; spend half an hour with him and you won't love him anymore.

Seemingly unwilling to give up her name yet, she turns to the rest of us. Erza and Lucy introduce themselves in turn before her gaze reaches me. I probably imagine it, but I swear her eyes widen slightly and I hear her breath hitch. Yeah, probably my tired imagination.

"I'm Gray." Why do I have a weird inclination to either bow or kiss her hand when I say this?

Her mouth drops open, confusing me. She spends way too long just staring at me and not giving an explanation for her shock. I raise an eyebrow again, resisting the temptation to wave a hand in front of her eyes.

Finally she speaks: "Gray? Gray Fullbuster?"

I start as she uses my full name. How the hell does she know me? That damn annoying – yet cute – teasing look is back again as she re-folds her arms. "Think back to that Spring Festival held in Darli."

I frown, confused as to why she wants me to wade through the memories of my childhood, painful as they are. I may as well do as she says though, as a) the memories of the Spring Festival aren't so painful; they were so fun, and b) it doesn't seem like she's going to tell us her name until I do as she says. Dammit, since when do I follow orders? And yet, here I am, this stranger from the Cara making me perform tricks like some damn dog. I'll have to work on that.

Suddenly, a scene surfaces in my head; a sunny warm day just as the sun was setting, the torches and bonfires in the city already lit and music playing loudly…

ЖЖЖ

_I was standing by the sidelines, out of the way while Mama and Papa were dancing together. I knew the song though, and so knew the dance was finishing soon. Papa would then come over and get one of those drinks that you feel like your insides were wearing those warm fuzzy winter coats, and he'd let me drink some if I didn't tell anyone._

_I managed to pull myself onto a perch, and all I could do was stare open-mouthed at the amount of delicious looking food. The table was surely going to collapse under the weight of it all!_

_My feet suddenly left the floor, and I look up to find Papa standing behind me, his hands under my arms. His dark eyes glittered in the light as he smiled far brighter than all the fires put together._

"_No seven-year-old can eat all that himself," he chuckled. "Not even you."_

_He pressed a kiss to my head as he set me down, and I turned to look at him with wide eyes._

"_Can I have some more of that cool drink though?"_

"_Careful, Gray," he ruffles my hair. "You're becoming an alcoholic."_

_I tilted my head at him, confused. "What's one of those?"_

_Papa's eyes sparkled as he smiled more. "I'll tell you when you're older. I'll go and get one of those drinks."_

_I beamed at him, and went back to gazing longingly at the food on top of the table as Papa left. The floor behind me was getting ready for the next dance._

_While I was straining for a leg of the chicken though, I heard something._

"_Will you dance with me? Will you dance with me?"_

_I turn away from my conquest to search for the source of the noise. A small girl in a light-weight grass-green dress, with her wavy dark brown hair clipped on top of her head apart from one strand on either side of her face, was darting from one boy to the next, asking that question over and over as they each refused her. As she looks around for her next target – and doesn't see me because I'm higher up – her face becomes sad, scrunching up in that way I recognise from the girls at school. She began to cry, covering her face with her hands as her shoulders started to shake._

_Her__reaction__confused__me.__I__'__d__heard__bigger__children__talking__about__being__heartbroken__because__they__were__rejected,__but__I__thought__they__were__being__selfish__and__too-action-y_**(My****word****as****a****small****child****for**** "****melodramatic****" ****:P)**_.__Why__was__this__girl,__who__was__no__older__than__me,__acting__like__that?_

_Annoyed that she was behaving like the bigger children, I jumped from my perch and walked up to her, folding my arms to make myself look like Papa when he was telling me off._

"_Why are you crying?" I demanded._

_The girl gasped and looked up at me, moving her hands to in front of her neck. My impressive "big-boy" pose was ruined when I saw her eyes; they matched her dress and were even more amazing in contrast to the redness in them from crying. I forced my mouth to close and my eyes to narrow to an ordinary size again, and pretended I had been waiting for an answer without that interruption._

_The girl wiped her forearm across her eyes. "I've been practicing the dance for the next song, and I wanted this year to be my first dance. But nobody will dance with me."_

_I rolled my eyes and waited for her to stop her stupid sniffling – and trying to ignore the weird want to comfort her. "What song is it?"_

"Teviot Bridge_,__" __she__says,__her__eyes__welling__up.__ "__My__favourite.__"_

_I stood there, looking expectantly at her. She was too absorbed in feeling sorry for herself to notice so I sighed loudly._

"_Well?" I asked sharply, and she looked back up at me. "Aren't you going to ask me?"_

_She gasped, then looked down, sad again. "I thought you were too annoyed at me. You seemed angry, so I thought you wouldn't want to dance with me."_

"_Well if you're going to keep snivelling about it," I frown, "I'll do it to shut you up." All in all, I thought my 'don't care that you're crying and that you're pretty' performance was pretty good._

_Those stunning eyes brightened as I reached out, grabbed her hand and walked her over the paving slabs to the area cleared for the dance floor. As the other couples took to the floor as well, I stood in the line of boy partners, and girl stood in her line opposite me, smiling shyly but brightly at me. I couldn't help the smile I gave her in return; the fact that she was happy to be dancing with me gave me the same warm feeling that that drink gave me._

_Then the music started, and I stood still with the rest of my line as our girl partners perform their part at the start of the dance. She wasn't joking; she had been practicing. I didn't think even Mama could move so well, and this girl didn't miss a step. I was so focussed on her dancing that I almost missed the cue for me to start._

_For the rest of the dance, we had to keep hold of one another most of the time. And I didn't mind at all. Before long, we were both laughing at the fun of the whole experience. Especially at the end; we both became so enthusiastic that the calm twirl we were supposed to do became a fast spin, causing us both to fly backwards. We couldn't stand up for a few minutes because we were laughing so much. It wasn't until we'd sat up and looked and smiled at each other again that we bothered to introduce ourselves…_

ЖЖЖ

My flashback ends, and the shy little girl in the dress morphs into the strong independent-looking young woman in front of me. Inside, I'm surprised that I could ever forget knowing the owner of such wonderful eyes. She raises her eyebrows at me, smiling. I smile back.

"You don't look like you'd cry if you couldn't find a partner to dance with anymore, Kyani Dawnstar," I tease. **(Pronounced****kee-AH-nee).** "Although, to be perfectly honest with you, you don't look like you'd have trouble finding a partner in the first place."

Her wonderful eyes crinkle as she laughs – well, laughs in a half-successful attempt to mask the embarrassed giggle and pinking of her cheeks. I grin at her, trying to convey to her that I know the effect that flirt has on her. Yes, I know that I'm flirting with her. Sue me.

"Well, you're a lot more charming now that you were back then," she winks. _**Winks**_! _Stay__cool,__Gray.__Stay__calm._

"I wonder," she continues, "if your dancing skills have improved any."

Oh, she did _**not**_…. Giving fuel to the others, who don't know that I used to join in our traditional dancing, to tease me about is just cruel. And by the devilish smirk on her face right now – which is annoyingly similar to the one I had moments ago – she knows it.

"Huh?" Natsu cries, an evil glint in his eye. "Gray used to dance?"

"You llllllike her," Happy giggles.

"Oh, may the ground swallow me now," I groan out loud, hoping no one notices my lack of denial at Happy's comment.

"I can make that happen if you want," Kyani laughs.

Natsu loses his "malicious-planning" look to glance curiously at her, as do the others. I realise that this topic is the perfect distraction for Natsu's teasing, and I can't help but think; did she deliberately say it to save me from his mockery?

She holds her forefinger and middle finger up, making the "peace" sign, and winks again. "I'm an Earth Wizard. I can control the actual ground – like dirt and rocks and stuff – but I can manipulate plants too." She grins. "I love my magic."

"Give us a demo then," Natsu challenges, his eyes bright with the same excitement as hers.

"What do you want to see?" she smirks, obviously ready to show off.

"Anything."

Kyani looks around the street for inspiration, chewing the inside of her bottom lip as she contemplates her options. Then her stunning face brightens, and she turns to us with a sly smile.

"Want to see how I travel around towns?"

In response to the silent "yes" on all our faces, she closes her eyes gently in concentration and spreads her legs a little further apart. I can't help but tense slightly in anticipation; even though she's not attacking or showing any display of that kind but rather only showing her personal mode of transport, I'm excited to see the kind of power possessed by this grown-up and almost flipped version of that shy girl from my past.

After only a few seconds, Kyani opens her eyes again, raising her hand so it is stretched out in front of her, fingers open and palm facing upwards. I flick my gaze back to her eyes, and have to hold in a gasp; if her eyes were stunning before, it's nothing compared to when I can actually physically _**see**_ the magic in them. She just smiles – a completely contented and elated smile.

Then she flicks her hand up, like she's beckoning the ground, and jumps.

Dust kicks up around her, billowing out towards us and making us cough and our eyes sting. As the slight breeze clears the obstruction, our eyes widen in time with our grins. In front of us – and slightly above us – Kyani hovers on a lump of stone and earth from the slabs. The jagged dip in the ground in front of us indicates its origin.

As we raise our heads back to Kyani, amazement clear on our faces, she giggles, and her platform moves slightly to our left and upwards, the smoothness of its movement startling me.

"I can control the movements of rocks and the ground itself," Kyani explains. "It didn't take me long to start wondering if I could be on a piece of ground that I moved. It took a while to get used to standing on something that could move like this, but I'm a pro at it now." She flashes a smile and spreads her arms out. "It's basically a different version of a car with an SE plug; it uses my magic, only a little, to move. The difference is –" she darts around us gracefully, up, down and any direction, before appearing in front of us again, "– I can go anywhere on this thing. And if I've got enough magic, there are wicked speeds on this."

"That's very impressive," Erza admits, speaking up for the first time. "But it leaves damage behind. The path is now destroyed."

Natsu nudges me, then puts a fist proudly to his chest, smirking and winking. "The mark of a true Fairy Tail wizard."

In a rare moment of companionship and general agreement, I laugh and copy his stance, my left fist against the Fairy Tail mark on my right pec through my clothes.

"Still causing trouble, Fullbuster?" It's really unfair that Kyani's using her current height to increase her condescension with her hands on her hips. She turns back to Erza before I can respond.

"There's no need to worry about the damage. Watch…" She looks down at the pothole, spreading her arms down towards it. A magic circle appears around it, as green as Kyani's eyes and the pattern made out of interlocking vines and flowers. Clicking sounds around us direct our attention elsewhere and I watch in amazement as small rocks on the street start gathering in the hole, effectively filling it up. With one last gesture from Kyani, the rocks are compressed together until they merge to become part of the street, as if it had always been so.

Natsu scuffs his shoe across the invisible boundary. "No difference in the level. That's incredible."

Kyani moves her foot nearer the edge of her platform, and suddenly it tilts into her hand and she's dropping from her previous height. On impact with the ground, she merely bends her knees slightly, and doesn't even stagger with the weight of a large lump of solid concrete and earth clutched under her arm.

Man, has she _**changed**_!

After propping her platform up against the side of the nearby cafe – it's hilarious; she acts like it's a normal thing to do, and that someone else might want to use it! – Kyani turns back to us.

"Can we go to Fairy Tail then?"

"Yeah," Lucy smiles one of her – I'll admit – fairly cute 'really happy' smiles. "Let's go home."

I smile in agreement at her choice of words, and nod my head once.

"Yes!" Natsu fist-pumps the air, his excitement almost tangible. "We have to see who will fight you first."

"Um…" Poor Kyani, unused to all that is Natsu, looks confused and uneasy. Natsu doesn't notice though as he just reaches for her wrist and takes off at a run, dragging Kyani behind him. She yelps at the sudden movement before she laughs at the Dragon Slayer's enthusiasm.

"Uh, Natsu…" Lucy calls out, seeming slightly embarrassed and worried about her friend's actions.

"We must follow him," Erza insists, her face as determined as ever. "He may assign Kyani to a fight she has no intention of competing in."

"Yeah," I agree, starting to run toward the guild with the others. "I doubt she'd appreciate that kind of welcome into Fairy Tail."

Luckily we catch up to them just outside of Fairy Tail, where Kyani is looking up at the guild in wonder, her expression highly impressed by the architecture. I can see the tension in her shoulders though as she stares at the wooden doors to the guild; she's nervous. I walk up beside and manage to resist taking her elbow gently in comfort.

"You'll be fine," I promise her.

She smiles at me gratefully before gasping quietly and telling me to shush. Her face turns up slightly and her eyes close lightly as she puts her hands on her hips. More memories start coming back to me; the time in that field we found together, where she told me what that stance meant she was doing.

"What are you listening to?" I murmur, not wanting to disturb whatever is giving her that peaceful smile.

"The stones," she answers, her lips turning up slightly more, before she sighs happily and nods, opening her eyes again and dropping her arms. "Yep; I've come to the right place."

"Did you say you were listening to the stones?" Lucy asks, a confused look on her face.

Kyani nods. "Over time, the earth in a certain place, or the stone in the walls of a certain building, absorbs memories and emotions et cetera, and echo them. An Earth Wizard like me can get in tune with them and listen to the mood of the building. These stones speak of loyalty and friendship, but also of a hell of a lot of fun." She turns back to us and grins happily. "It seems like just the right place for me."

We all smile at her in agreement, and Erza breaks the silence. "Come on; let's introduce her to Fairy Tail."

**Ta-da! The wonderful first chapter is finished. I know, I know; Gray's a little OOC, sorry about that. It'll probably be like that for a lot of the fanfic, but I'll try to keep as close to his character as possible: I'll make him argue with Natsu hopefully in every chapter ;) And he's going to strip in the next chapter lol. Anyway, my thanks to the wonderful boy who introduced me to Fairy Tail in the first place. Hope you all like this fanfic, and I apologise in advance if I don't update for ages.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


	2. Meet MY Gray

**Chapter 2: Meet _my_ Gray**

**Kyani's POV**

I can't believe it. I mean, I knew he'd have grown up by now, but…I didn't expect that he would have "grown up", if you get my meaning. I'd had quite a big crush on him back before Deliora – as is natural for a girl of that age to like any guy of a similar age that is nice to her – and I'd thought he was cute. But now…he's not just cute; he's _**sexy**_ too. I mean, he gives these really cute smiles and laughs and everything, then he's standing there as Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome. Puberty has definitely been kind to Gray Fullbuster.

Anyway, you didn't hear me say all that, okay?

But Fairy Tail stands proud before me, and it's the most exciting moment of my life. With the cream coloured walls stretching further out on the first floor than on the second floor and then the third with the dome on top, for some reason the only comparison I can think of is a layered cake. The ark-double-doors are painted the same dark red as the window frames on the first floor, and they're framed by the soft-green shelter supported by the majestic stone pillars. The window frames on the second floor are that same green, making the whole guild look slightly Christmas-y with the red roof-slates to match. Three flags hang from the roof of the third floor; one is the Fairy Tail ensign, but I don't recognise the other two. The joy I hear from the stones only adds to the welcoming feeling from the entire building.

My heartbeat picks up as Erza pushes the doors open. The scent of beer and some domestic dish wash out to me, caressing and calming me along with the sound of laughter and greetings as Natsu, Happy and Lucy follow the red-head. Gray's hand on my shoulder is the final factor I need to give me the courage to walk through the doorway. His lips stretch into that smile; the one that makes my insides do crazy things. But even though it makes my heart go erratic, it grounds my resolve, and I stride forwards with his hand still there to give me something solid to depend on. Once both of us are inside, Gray shuts the door.

The warm scent of the wood of the building frame, the stairs and landing, and the three columns of matching tables, benches and chairs swirls around the entire room, coaxing my body further into the room. There's the staircase along the left side leading up to the balcony landing hovering on the back wall and opening out into a larger area in the middle of the back wall. One column of those tables is to my left, seen between spaced out square support pillars with lamps on each face. The other two columns are to my right, a little gap between them and the first column to make the pathway to the back of the guild, and plenty of the chairs are taken by people who I guess I should start calling my fellow guild-members. On the ground floor under that more open and sheltered bit on the balcony, a bar and a shop sit further into the wall side-by-side.

Gray and I walk down the pathway to the back of the guild, Gray greeting people and answering their inquiries about how their latest job went. I spot Natsu, Happy, Lucy and Erza talking with other people around the guild.

"Gray!" a burly white-haired man with a scar under his right eye calls out, raising his hand in greeting as Gray does the same. "New recruit?"

"Yeah," Natsu, already next to the man, answers for him. "Gray found his old girlfriend and we picked her off the street."

Gray's hand stiffens on my shoulder before releasing it, and he storms around me and up to Natsu, getting right in his face, his expression on the profile that I can see furious.

"She is _**not**_ my girlfriend, idiot!" he fumes. "And don't say we picked her off the street, because we didn't!"

"Yes, we did!" Natsu retaliates, his expression and hostile stance now mimicking Gray's. "We saw her in the street and we brought her back here."

"We _**met**_ her in the street!" Gray corrects. "If you say we picked her off the street, it makes her sound like either a street urchin or a prostitute, flame-brain!"

"She doesn't look like either of them, so Elfman knew what I meant, popsicle! There's no need to start a fight, but I'll gladly accept if you really want to challenge me!"

Their fists had raised throughout this exchange, and as they draw them back, constantly glaring at one another, I decide to intervene. Gray cries out, startled, as his fight is interrupted by his loss of balance; I grab him by the collar of his coat and pull him behind me towards the back, walking calmly.

"Come on, you," I sigh. "You need to show me where I sign to enrol. You'll have plenty of time to let the girls fawn over you as you flex your muscles later."

Gray's heavy and uneven footfalls indicate his stumbling. "Can I at least face the right way then? I don't want to spend any more time looking at _**his**_ ugly mug." I'm sure I can imagine the glare on his face fairly accurately.

I release his collar but grab his upper arm instead, pulling him to in front of me and blocking his way back to Natsu should he feel the need to reinitiate their battle. I point over his shoulder as he's looking down at me (damn him for being so tall).

"Lead," I command, and he fires another glare over my shoulder before rolling his eyes at me, turning and walking to the shop/bar.

"I don't believe it," a middle-aged man with a weird haircut and a smoking-pipe stuck in his mouth grins at another middle-aged man in a coat similar to Gray's. "She's not as good as Erza, but she still managed to stop one of their fights. She's a tough one."

I grin at him and flip my eyebrows once, dusting my nails off on my brown cotton travelling top. Both men chuckle and give me a thumbs-up. Smirking, I turn back to Gray, talking to his back.

"So, Erza beats you up?"

Amusingly, a shudder runs down his back, his coat trembling at the ends, and I make a mental note to see Erza fight to see what his fear is about.

We reach the back shortly, and the pretty young lady behind the bar, who I now recognise as the famous Mirajane, smiles warmly at Gray.

"Welcome back, Gray," she greets him, her voice as soft as her disposition if rumours are anything to go by. "Did you have fun?"

"Hi, Mira," he smiles fondly at her. "Yeah; nothing's more therapeutic than beating up the selfish lowlifes of this world."

She giggles – a sound of those clichéd wind-chimes.

"Is Gramps in?" he asks her, gesturing to me. "We've got a new recruit."

She turns her brightness to me. "Hi there. I'm Mirajane. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

Setting my bag down at the foot of the bar, I beam at her, her sheer happiness and warmth too contagious to not. "Thanks. I'm Kyani, the girl who used to beat Gray up. I haven't been here five minutes yet, and I love it already."

She rings her wind-chimes again. "Yes, it is rather fun. So you and Gray used to know each other?"

"Yeah, and I'm not as weedy as I used to be," Gray grins that heart-stopping grin – which I have now named 'Charmer' – before playfully getting me in a headlock and pulling me against him for a few seconds. Even in that short time, I can feel the bulging muscles in his upper arms, boasting of strength that he's holding back for my sake. Not to mention the nigh-on brick wall he pulls me against.

Ooh, that means he's probably got a six-pack. Yum.

You didn't hear me say _**that**_ either.

"The Master went out on one of his meetings while you were doing your job," Mira answers Gray's earlier question, interrupting my shirtless-Gray fantasy. "He should be back very soon though, certainly before the end of the day."

"Oh, okay," Gray says. "Thanks, Mira."

"Hey," Lucy laughs, appearing at Gray's side with Natsu and Happy. "Do you want your share or not?"

"Yes, please," he says sarcastically. He leans further towards the three of them as they discuss and distribute shares.

I leave them to their business, turning back to Mira and the bar, taking one of the taller wooden stools nearby. As I further examine this area of the guild, I spy a large tureen on the cooker behind the bar and finally recognise the smell of food I had first sensed when I walked into the guild.

"Tomato soup is wonderful for any time of the year," I smile at Mira.

She beams at me. "I always thought that," she agrees. "I haven't made it in a while, so I thought I'd do it now."

"You know, it tastes even just slightly better with a bit of dried basil. It's a soft difference, but it really adds another layer to the flavour."

Mira looks intrigued. "Really? I'll try that in the next pot I make."

"Stop giving away my Mama's secrets." From his words alone, I worry that Gray's actually angry. But when I turn to face him, he has 'Charmer' on again, and winks at me once. He stands straight up again, half a head taller than me when I'm standing.

"I'm just going to drop the money off at my apartment. Will you be alright here on your own for a few minutes?"

I respond in Carain. "I'm a big girl now, Fullbuster," I grin. "I'm sure I can manage."

He laughs, his dark eyes teasing, and responds similarly. "Are you sure?" His face suddenly morphs into a heart-breaking expression, and he starts snivelling dramatically. "Nobody wants to dance with me," he says in a high-pitched voice.

Even though he still uses Carain so no one understands that jibe, I leap out of my chair indignantly, the chair legs scraping against the floor, and glare at him albeit with a smile on my face. Luckily for him, he had started to run straight after his joke, and his deep but joyful (and too amused) chuckle trails behind him before he turns back to me at the now-open door, his face bright.

"I'll be back soon, yeah?" he checks, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Go on," I smile, not glaring anymore. Damn him and his cuteness making me forgive him easily. "I'll be fine."

He smiles at me – a real happiness and no-joking smile – before taking off down the street at a sprint, the door closing behind him and eventually blocking him from my view.

"That was the first time I've ever heard Gray speak of his mother."

Surprised, I turn back to Mira, her face just as surprised as mine. "I knew he must have known them," she continues, "but I thought, since he didn't talk about it, something bad had happened, so I never asked."

"You were right," I inform her, sitting back down. "His parents were killed when he was eight. The Demon of Disaster, Deliora, destroyed his city, and his parents perished in the attack. My city was destroyed just hours after because they were really close. That's how Gray and I know each other; a shared celebration was held in my city, and we met at the festival. We were seven at the time."

"How horrible!" Mira breathes, her hand on her neck. "He must feel really comfortable with you to talk about her now, especially as a joke."

"His mother was basically my mother; my parents weren't the best, but Gray's parents treated me like a daughter, so Gray and I grew really close really quickly. It helped that I was round his house so much." I drop my gaze to the table, sadness sweeping fatigue over me. "When I heard Gray's parents were dead, I cried for two hours solid. They were more like a mother and father to me than my own parents. For a few seconds, even though I knew it was wrong for me to think it, I wanted to switch his parents' place with mine; I thought the wrong set of parents had died, and I wished that mine had died instead of his." I close my eyes, suddenly and horribly fighting back tears. "I never saw Gray after that night. When I got to the emergency camp for Kria, nobody knew where he'd gone. I had one hope though; I stayed until every corpse was found, and they never reported finding his."

"We learnt about Gray's past a few weeks ago," Lucy joins in the conversation, still sitting nearby. "He was taken in by an Ice wizard teacher and her elder student."

I raise my eyebrows, impressed. "An Ice wizard, huh? Wow; I bet Gray's really powerful."

"Yeah," Lucy agrees. "He's really skilled."

"Not as good as me!" Natsu grins. "Dragon Slayer magic is way more powerful than Ice magic."

"You're the Salamander?" I gulp. "Remind me not to piss you off."

Natsu laughs and I grin at him.

"Wait," I say, just realising something. "Why did Gray tell you about his past a few weeks ago?"

"He kind of had to," Lucy explains. "We found Deliora on a quest we went on, and he freaked out."

Ice clogs up my throat and slinks its way down to clench at my heart, making it beat faster, and my breath picks up in response to the internal hypothermia. Through the haze of my panic attack, the others are looking at me worriedly.

"Deliora was there?" I gasp. They nod. "But I thought it had been encased in ice?"

"It had," Natsu frowns at my reaction. "That elder student was trying to resurrect it. It's complicated to explain."

I barely hear anything after the mention of resurrection; I see Deliora in front of me, its terrifying face as clear as the destructive light coming out of its mouth as it rains down over Darli, the people in the street fleeing from fire in every direction, their screams ringing and my eardrums bursting until I can hear them inside my own head –.

A pair of merciful hands clamp solidly down on my shoulders, grounding me. Suddenly I'm not gaping, petrified, at the horrific mask of Deliora, but gazing into the concerned eyes of Mirajane. And it's not hard and unforgiving rubble I feel under and behind me, but the smooth wood of a stool. There's something solid behind me, true enough, but it's warm, comforting…a sanctuary.

Tipping my head backwards, I stare, upside-down, into his eyes as black as that night – before the fires – his face cast in shadow as he tilts his head down to look at me, his tips of his long hair just brushing his eyelids. The same concern from Mirajane is emanating from his eyes, but more than that; there's understanding too. Despite the fact that this new independent and strong Kyani that he re-met just a few minutes ago is different to the one that he knew before, he still understands the reason for my current weak state. And he accepts it.

The horror still not gone from my imagination, I turn around on the stool and throw my arms around his waist, burying my face in his black jumper. His long, strong arms encase me, pressing me closer to him and stroking my hair. Slowly, my small tremors dissipate, and Gray pulls back only enough to look down at me again. I submerge myself in his eyes again, in order to keep Deliora's image out of my head.

"It's dead," he says suddenly.

My soul, which had been wallowing in his gaze, is sharply tugged back into my physical body at his declaration. I frown at him; how does he believe such a seemingly impossible task has been accomplished? I'd heard that Deliora hadn't been killed but had been imprisoned in ice by a powerful wizard. If it hadn't been killed the first time, surely it's unlikely that someone managed to do it now?

Gray doesn't let me go, not even to sit down. I'm grateful for his support, even if that's all he's giving as I let my imagination wander.

"My teacher used a spell to imprison Deliora, giving her life source to that ice and destroying her own body." I stare in horror and sympathy at him, shocked that he had to go through the loss of yet another loved one through the spell I recognised as Iced Shell. He smiles sadly at me.

"My elder student, for reasons I won't go into, wanted to melt the ice and resurrect Deliora. He succeeded." He tightens his grip on me slightly, probably to prevent another panic attack. "But only for a few seconds; Natsu and I saw Deliora disintegrate as my teacher's ice had been sapping its life energy for ten years."

The nobility of that sacrifice, and the faith that she must have had in her power, stun me into silence for a few moments, and I promise myself that I will honour her death properly when I have her name, the date of her death and the time to make something special. I smile up at Gray, willing him to see the sympathy, sadness and most of all the pride and admiration in my eyes.

"You were taught by the right person," I state, my voice strong in a desperate attempt to make him realise how _**true**_ that is.

His smile is a reflection of mine, emotions and all; he understands! "Yes, I was," he says simply.

ЖЖЖ

The rest of the afternoon passes in the beer hall, talking with Gray's friends. I met Cana when I asked her for a glass of the wine she was drinking. She grinned at me, joking that she guessed she could spare a glass for the weary newbie. Remembering Gray's old habit, I'd raised the glass to him and asked in Carain if the alcoholic wanted a sip. The sour look he gave me was spoilt by his unsuccessfully-concealed smile.

"What's that language that you and Gray keep speaking?" Happy asks, the cute little thing probably annoyed that he can't understand.

"It's called Carain," Gray explains. "There's an area in the Mainland where eight cities make – or made – a horseshoe. Long ago, those cities made an alliance, and so the whole piece of land the cities rested on was called the Cara. Carain is the ancient language known only to the inhabitants of those eight cities. Obviously, we don't speak it now, but we learnt it at school." Gray looks back at me and grins slyly. "Kyani and I just liked the idea of being able to speak a language that not many people knew about, so we studied it out of class too, with help from my parents, and we eventually became fluent in it. I'm actually surprised I can still remember this much, considering how long I haven't practiced."

"Me too," I agree. "Memories are kind of coming back to me though, and much faster than I could have hoped for."

"Those were some good lessons," Gray jokes, winking again. He really needs to stop winking or I'll die of an overdose of cuteness.

"Yes, they were; your home was always my favourite place to be."

"Oh, speaking of homes," Lucy sits up, "do you have an apartment in the city, Kyani?"

"Oh, not yet," I admit. "I was thinking I could stay here till I find a place."

"No way," Gray frowns. "You won't be comfortable here; it's great as a day-time guild, but it kind of sucks if you have to sleep here. There aren't any beds except the ones in the clinic, and those are only used for emergencies, for obvious reasons."

"Gray's right, Kyani," Lucy turns back to me. "Tell you what; I have an apartment not far from here. The rent is 400,000 Jewels a month **(I have a feeling that's wrong. Feel free to correct me if you know the rent value)**, and there's enough space for two to stay. Even though the others come round a lot –" She glares at Erza, Gray and Natsu, and I smother a smirk. "– it'll be nice to have someone else there to keep me company. If I can get an extra income to help with rent, it'll be even better." She beams at me, and I can't help but feel honoured by her generosity.

"Thanks, Lucy," I smile at her. "I'd love that."

"Great! We can make our way there at seven, okay?"

We all nod our consent; I guess that means the others are accompanying us.

I glance idly around the room again, taking in more details of the place that I will call my home. My eyes fall on an old piano in the corner of the room, obviously not used much if the dust on the surface is anything to go by, and I turn back to Gray, my eyes bright.

"Do you still play?" I ask him in Carain.

He follows my gaze to determine what I'm referring too, and smiles as he faces me again. "Yeah," he responds in our language. "Guitar too; I practice both of them when there's no one around. But why are you asking me in Carain?"

I shrug. "Music was such an important thing to you before, I thought it might still be now. But you were always so shy about performing, so I thought the others might not know about it. If that was the case, I figured it would be better if I inquired about it in a way they wouldn't understand."

His smile softens, and I recognise the gratefulness in his expression, confirming that my theory was correct.

"I'll tell them one day, and play for them," he promises.

"How about now?" I ask, almost buzzing with excitement at a thought.

Gray tilts his head to the side, confused about my attitude. Letting out a giggle, I jump down from my bar-stool and hurry over to my bag, rifling through one of the side pockets. My grin widens as I feel my hand brush against the object of my search, and I pull it carefully out for Gray to see. His eyes widen in surprise before the biggest grin I've seen on his face yet appears, lighting up the local vicinity as he stares at the flute-like instrument in my hand.

"A wooden lythia?" he asks, seemingly not trusting his eyes.

I've got my violin here too," I smile, gesturing back to my bag down by the bar.

"Seriously?" he asks, his voice pitch rising with his body as he hurries over to see the hard, slightly conical case by my bag. He spins excitedly back to me, reaching for the lythia in my hands, running his fingers near its smooth surface as if fascinated but fearing that it would break if he touched it.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was seven," he breathes, his dark eyes sparkling.

I let him have a few more moments of awe before I ask: "You up for it now then?"

He focuses back on me, his almost-black eyes boring into mine. Unlike with other people, I don't feel any inclination to look away. Sometimes the only way to determine my emotions is to look into my eyes, because I make my exterior as impenetrable as the diamond in the Earth. If I blank my body of any emotion, it's usually because I don't want people to see them, so I hide my eyes from them too. But with Gray, I feel no fear in opening up to him. He's the one person I don't want to hide from, because he's the one person who can hide _**me**_ from whatever I need to be protected from.

Now, I show him the longing I have to hear him play, the desperation to pay with him and reconnect with him in that special way we used to, besides conversing in Carain. I plead with him to take me back to happier times in my birth area, rather than my almost nightly horrors of Deliora.

His smile is the promise of the dawn after a winter in the Southern Circle **(my made-up **_**Fairy Tail**_** version of Antarctica)**. I almost have to tear my eyes away from the combined radiance of his smile and the light in his eyes, but I don't dare. My only hope is to try and match the brightness with my own.

He turns towards the piano, rubbing his hand over it lovingly, clearing the cover of dust before lifting it carefully like the lid of a treasure chest.

"Gray?" Lucy asks. "What are you –?"

"You'll see," he promises, back in the Common Tongue, his midnight hair flicking into his eyes as he shoots her a grin over his shoulder. Again, with the cute _**and**_ sexy.

"Is it even in tune?" I ask Gray.

He shrugs, quickly playing a few chords to check. "Sounds fine," he confirms, sitting on the piano stool.

"So what do you want to play?" I give him first choice, speaking Carain again.

"I don't know," he stares at the keys as he sorts through his repertoire. After a few moments of silence, I cautiously offer an idea, wary of his reaction.

"What about your lullaby?"

His head snaps back to me, and I'm worried that I've overstepped his emotional boundaries. The silence drags on, and I become more and more ready to spout out fervent apologies when a smile suddenly graces his face. He nods once.

"I haven't heard it in so long," he whispers.

I smile softly back at him, bending down to open my bag and pull out my hard violin case. Clicking the latches open, I carefully take the instrument out, holding it by its neck and placing it on the bar-top. I sort out my bow, tightening it and using the rosin on the hairs. Gray gazes in wonder at my violin, and I smile proudly at the very instrument his mother gave to me as a child; the actual wood of the violin is common enough, but the delicate ivory patterns of leaves, swirls and flowers are definitely impressive.

Now ready, I pick the violin up again, looking at Gray expectantly. He grins, nodding confidently, and turns back to the piano. Almost the whole beer hall is quiet now, curious as to what their old member is doing sitting at a piano.

Gray takes a deep breath, then places his hands on the keys. And plays. **(By the way, he plays the **_**Fairy Tail**_** soundtrack "Past Story". I know there's a flute in there too, and other instruments, but imagine it's only played with the piano and the violin.)**

I'm suddenly back in Kria, in the Fullbuster house, by the piano in the lounge, where Gray and I used to play together for hours, trying out different pieces that we found in the local music shop. His family are sitting on the sofa, watching and smiling as I take my cue and begin to play my part. The warmth from the entire room – the atmosphere, the decor, their smiles, my connection with Gray – tingles in the centre of my chest. I watch as their faces fade as Gray plays the last melancholy note, the emotion of the piece lingering in the air along with it.

The silence sounds off in the beer hall, as if I already know that this place is always filled with some sort of noise. Gray doesn't turn around to acknowledge the amazed and impressed stares, and I wait tensely for his reaction to playing the piece. After four long minutes, he speaks.

"That was a lullaby my mother wrote for me when I was a baby," he addresses no one in particular. "She taught me it."

"It's beautiful," Lucy breathes.

"You're not so bad on the piano, droopy eyes," Natsu compliments.

After another pause, Gray looks up at me. "I felt like I was back home." He remains in the Common Tongue.

Looking into his eyes again – and trying not to get lost in them – I don't see the mysterious, sexy Gray Fullbuster I see now. Instead, a lost little boy pleads silently for me to comfort him for his losses. Like when he lost his prized wolf wood-carving that his father made him, he pleaded with me then, not wanting to say the words out loud but admitting that he wanted and needed someone with him. I'd stayed with him that night, disregarding my parents' wrath that I would receive the next day.

I smile down at Gray, then kneel down to his level, never breaking our eye contact.

"Me too," I whisper, then wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself to him and him to me. As he copies me, we silently offer our protection and comfort to each other, once more making the vow we made long ago. Only this time, we won't be separated again.

**Awww, isn't that sweet? Sorry, I know Gray is a little OOC, but it's kind of the point; she's the only one he can open up to, and vice versa. Anyway, let me know your thoughts.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


	3. Scars

**Chapter 3: Scars**

**Kyani's POV**

The master – Makarov – finally arrives back at the guild in the late afternoon. I had heard about his giant-then-dwarf act, so I'm not surprised by Erza's – and everyone else's – devoted respect for the midget in the orange tracksuit that enters through the door.

I won't bore you with the details of my official entry into the guild; I'm introduced to the master, paperwork is signed, and Mira offers to stamp me with the guild's symbol. I decide to get it on the right side of my neck, the same vibrant green of my eyes. Once I walk back over to the others, newly marked, Gray and Lucy "welcome me to the family" with a hug, while Erza contents herself with a hearty handshake and Natsu slings his arm around my neck again for a few seconds.

I also learn about Gray's habit that I most _**certainly**_ can get used to. Looking away from the table we're all sitting at, I order another drink from Mira. Once I have my order I turn back to the table…and almost drop my drink. Everyone is acting completely normal, nothing is wrong with them. There's just something different about the scene. Namely the lack of clothing on Gray's _**ripped**_ body. I can't help but stare, mainly at his abs that are so perfectly defined, and his shoulders, wide and proud like I remember his father's being. Luckily he has underwear on. But as I'm ogling his abs, I realise most of my view is blocked by reams of bandages, and I frown thinking of the cause for their necessity.

"Kyani?" I drag my gaze up to Gray's mouth, from which the question came. "What's wrong?"

I'm glad Lucy answers for me; I don't think I can work my mouth just yet. "I'm not sure she's used to your stripping habit, Gray."

The young man – no male with a body like that could be called a boy – in question blinks, then looks down and swears in Carain. He picks up his clothes from the floor beside him, hastily pulling them on. By the time he's finished I've slowly made my way back to the table, sitting down and never taking my confused eyes off him. I look to Lucy for answers.

"He has a habit of taking his clothes off really fast and without realising," she shrugs, as if it's nothing to be presented with this perfection on a regular basis.

"So I'm going to my apartment for the rest of the evening, so you can come with me now and we'll get your new room sorted out," Lucy announces, looking at me as she gets up from the table. Apparently the stripping incident is common enough to forget about, so I let it go. She turns her now sarcastic gaze to the others. "I won't bother inviting you all, as you'll probably invite yourselves."

Natsu jumps up excitedly, a huge grin on his face. "Yes! Free food, let's go!" Without even waiting for the owner of the apartment, he dashes off, Happy trailing behind him at the prospect of food.

Gray sighs, shaking his head. I can't tell if he's resigned or still disapproving.

"Always thinking of his stomach," he mutters, glaring after the Dragon Slayer.

"Let's catch him up," Lucy says, looking worried, "before he destroys my apartment trying to get in."

"I agree," Erza stands up. "We must not let Lucy suffer for Natsu's carelessness."

"Let's go," I say, grabbing Gray's hand with my gloved one and pulling him off the bench. As I make my way to the door, electric shocks make their way up my arm, originating from my hand. I realise my mistake; I took Gray's hand out of instinct – it was a regular occurrence between us when we wanted the other to follow – but our more mature ages have made the action more…intimate, less playful, than before.

And yet…Gray doesn't pull away. Running through the door ahead of the others, I barely hold in a smile as I let my imagination wander through possible, dream-fulfilling reasons for that.

"We'll never catch up to them when he's got this much of a head-start," Lucy complains. "Especially not while he's thinking about food."

"Wanna bet?" I challenge, trying not to enjoy the sensation too much as I draw Gray's arm around my waist and grab the other to do the same. He makes a surprised, questioning noise, but doesn't otherwise complain.

_Thank you, whatever deity may or may not be up there._

Holding my palm out to my side facing downward, I clench a fist, and the area of rock Gray and I are standing on cracks, an irregular shape, big enough to carry us both, beginning to rise. Gray seems to catch on, and his arms tighten around me.

"Oh, this is going to be fun," he chuckles excitedly.

I grin at him over my shoulder – trying to keep my cool about having his face so close to mine – and wink. "Hold on tight," I warn after quickly filling the hole in the pavement.

Then we take off.

As I described to the others before, I have reached speeds such as this – where the buildings and streets blur into one string of colour and stone – before, and even faster than this sometimes, as the need arose. Nevertheless, as Gray and I zoom through the air, the wind raking its refreshing fingers through our hair, our laughs mingle in a stream behind us, the thrill of the mock chase too much to ignore.

Following Gray's directions to Lucy's apartment, we catch up to Natsu in no time at all. My grin widens as I imagine his expression as we speed past him.

"See ya, loser!" Gray calls as we pass him. We're going too fast to see Natsu's face. Shame.

It's a shame that we have to stop this rollercoaster, but both Gray and I want to see Natsu's reaction when he sees us standing in front of Lucy's apartment _**before him**_. So we both step off our transportation before I launch it into the beautiful river, disposing of the evidence.

I take the time I have before the others catch up to gaze around Lucy's neighbourhood. The river is beautiful, needless to say, and the stone bridges and path are really cute. The houses are close enough together to be considered neighbourly, but distant enough not to look cramped. The two-storey wood-and-brick structure seems warm somehow, giving off the vibe of a home, and the joy and laughter resonating from the stones of the path in front of the house and the fireplace inside the apartment agree with me.

Loud footsteps interrupt the music of the stones, and Gray and I both turn, smirking, to face Natsu and Happy as they round the corner, incredulous and almost furious at the sight of us.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I _**did**_ warn you of the wicked speeds," I tease, relishing in the fact that I beat the Salamander at something. It probably won't happen again, and certainly not when it comes to fighting.

Lucy and Erza appear around the corner, breathing hard in their attempt to save Lucy's apartment from a breaking and entering.

"Did you beat him?" Lucy asks. "Is my apartment safe?"

"It's intact," I promise. "We managed to get here before Natsu."

The Dragon Slayer glares at us while Lucy breathes a sigh of relief.

"Come on then," she says. "Let's go in normally, then you can have some food, Natsu."

Natsu suddenly forgets his grudge against me and Gray when Lucy mentions food, and I'm glad for his distraction; I thought he might not like me from now on, but it looks like he just isn't used to losing. I'll let him win next time, so his ego isn't too badly hit.

Lucy lets us all with her key before leading us upstairs to her share of the building. Natsu and Gray burst in while us three girls walk calmly into her apartment, and I smile at the overall homely effect of the decor.

The apartment was mainly one whole room, with a door off to the side that leads, presumably, to the bathroom. A table is placed in the middle of the section directly in front of me, and a bed is tucked into the corner against the wall at the back behind that, with a largish wardrobe against the left wall between them. Further to the right against the back wall, a large window, then a smallish wooden desk. To my right, against the same wall as the door I've just walked through, a chest of drawers sits, and the stone fireplace I sensed before protrudes out of the wall slightly beyond that. On the other side of the fireplace, a kitchenette gleams cleanly. **(I don't know if the wardrobe or the kitchenette are right, but just imagine they are if I've got it wrong.)**

"There's a wheeled bed underneath mine," Lucy explains. "So you can use that one." **(I know that one's not right, but I kind of need an extra bed there for Kyani.)**

I smile at her. "Thanks, this is really kind of you. Your apartment's really cool too."

"Why did I never know about the wheeled bed?" Natsu demands.

Lucy makes a face. "Maybe because I never wanted you to stay here overnight."

"Yeah, flame-brain," Gray smirks. "You'd just destroy all her stuff."

"You're no better," Lucy reminds Gray.

He frowns. "Don't lump me in the same group as _**that**_ thing. I'd know to be careful with your stuff."

Lucy sticks her tongue out at him. "You're being lumped. And the only difference is that you'd take a little longer to destroy my stuff. You'd probably use them as targets to practice your lance-trick or something, whereas Natsu would just explode the whole place, testing the strength of his attack."

"Why am I always put next to Gray?" Natsu fumes. "We were put in the same team, now we're being put in the same imaginary groups. I can't stand being with that stupid popsicle!"

"You think it's bad for you?" Gray challenges, rounding on the Salamander again. "Imagine being me, when I'm in the same group as _**you**_!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu steps closer, looking murderous.

"Work it out for yourself, idiot!" Gray retaliates.

Then, they both summon their magic into their fists. At the new threat, I automatically recoil, knocking into Lucy to my left and tripping over Erza's foot behind me, sending me sprawling. Still I scramble further away, to the very edge of the landing, the furthest away I can get without tipping myself down the stairs. The whole time, my terrified gaze is fixated on Natsu's fists. I barely feel the dull pain of my fall as I lose myself in mental images, memories, once again…

_The windows of nearby houses burst through the heat inside them, the bright angry culprits exploding through the new holes, crawling up the foundations that remain untouched…_

_The old man from the other end of my street, screaming and rolling on the floor in a desperate and futile attempt to douse the malicious flames that had latched onto his clothes…_

_The burnt broken glass that sliced, bit and cauterised my entire body as I tried and tried and tried to claw my way out before I was crushed or asphyxiated…_

"Kyani!"

That voice definitely isn't in my memory; the memory would have been, and would be, a lot less terrifying if the owner of that voice had been there.

My vision focuses back on the present, and Gray's concerned – and apologetic – face is the first thing I see. Then I notice the others nearby, all staring down at me like there is something wrong with me. Maybe there is, considering the number of times I've had a freak-out today. My mind won't let me forget.

"It's a hard thing to forget," Gray promises in Carain. Had I said that out loud?

"I forgot something this time," he continues in the Common Tongue, his expression indicating that he is berating himself. "Deliora must have made it so much worse, too."

I nod in agreement with his speculation, then turn to the others – looking up as I am still on the floor – to explain. "I used to have a phobia of fire when I was younger. The night of Deliora only made it worse because fire was everywhere on the night of Darli's destruction."

"I should have stopped Natsu," he whispers, almost to himself. Then, startling me, he whirls back to the Dragon Slayer. "You should have stopped, too, though! You saw her reaction, and it was easy to see that she was staring at your fire!"

Natsu opens his mouth to snarl something back, but I jump to my feet. "Stop it, Gray!" I grab his arm. "He didn't know! It's not his fault. Anymore than it is yours."

Gray narrows his eyes at Natsu, but says nothing.

"Apologise to him," I say, softly but firmly. "Say you're sorry for snapping at him."

Gray's angelic face tightens in anger, and his closes his eyes and breathes deeply for a few seconds. But he opens them again, his eyes only slightly less narrowed than before.

"Sorry, Natsu." I can hear his strain as he attempts not to spit the words. But the strain indicates he wanted to mean the words, and that's good enough for me for now.

Natsu doesn't respond to him, but directs his gaze to me saying: "I won't do it again." I don't know if he's promising that to Gray – who has obviously, and curiously, been affected by my discomfort – or to me.

"Natsu," I say gently, "you can't just not use your magic. Don't worry about me; you just surprised me this time. I'll be fine, I can stick through it. Lord knows I've stuck through worse," I add under my breath.

But Lucy is close enough to hear me, and she turns to me now looking tentative. "Um, about that 'worse' bit," she says gently, as if not to startle a frightened animal. "When you fell, the leg of your pants kind of rose a little, and…the light from the window made them easier to see, I think, but…." She doesn't finish, but I know what she's referring to.

I sigh. "You weren't meant to see them. No one is. I never wear dresses anymore for this reason, and I try to wear my gloves as much as possible." I look around the hallway outside Lucy's apartment. "Come on, there's no use standing around out here. Let's get in there, then I'll explain."

We settle ourselves in Lucy's apartment in silence, and eventually Lucy and I take to sitting on her bed, Gray pulls a chair from the table to sit next to me past the foot of the bed, and Erza and Natsu sit at the table. Everyone is watching me, and I have to take a few moments to steel myself – and my self-esteem – before deciding to go for broke, rolling up my pants legs to my knees and taking my gloves off. Lucy must have been the only one to see them, because her expression is slightly less shocked than the others' as they all stare at the numerous criss-cross, haphazard scars that cover most of my calves and shins and my palms. That they can see anyway.

"Most of my body is actually covered in scars like these," I tell them, watching as their expressions turn from bad to worse. My insecurity can't stand the scrutiny any longer, and I try to hide my franticness as I adjust my attire back to how it was before. I wait another few minutes, gathering myself, before speaking again.

"When Deliora attacked, Darli was in chaos; nobody knew what was happening, and most of the time – with the exception of family and very, very close friends – it was every man for himself. When you're at the tender age of seven, you tend to get lost in the crowd, and no one notices you as they knock into you because of your height. My own less-than-average height, as is still evident now, didn't help matters, and I often got knocked over. This meant I was slow trying to get out of the city and away from the danger, especially since I couldn't even see above the crowd to know which way was the best way to go.

"I tried going through a street I saw that had less people. I'd thought that maybe I can find a way out that way, rather than risk getting knocked over and trampled again. Wrong choice; I got near the end of the street, explosions and screaming all around me and climbing over rubble and broken glass from the windows, and there it was." I pause, lost in memories again. "Deliora loomed, just fifty feet in front of me.

"I froze in terror. You've seen its face; the stuff of nightmares when you're seven. I saw a monster directly before me, destroying my city and killing my friends. I couldn't even move when it attacked, obliterating the cathedral, directly to my right. I didn't even seen the rubble, didn't know it was falling…until at least three tonnes of superheated stone, wood and glass buried me."

Turning to the only person who matters right now, I watch as Gray stares at me in horror, a replay, a visual image, of the incident flashing through his eyes, picturing teeny-tiny vulnerable me crushed under so much jeopardy and fear.

"I was actually quite surprised at myself," I say, looking back at my gloved hands and flexing them in front of my face. "I worked out pretty quickly that no one was coming to get me, that I would have to get out of there by myself. So I did that, in the only way that was available to me; using my hands against the sharp burning wreckage and pulling myself out. My palms were wrecked before long, and the flimsy material of the dress I had on that day did little to stop the glass and other stuff on the floor underneath me from tearing across the skin of my body, too."

I close my eyes in the pain of what happened next; a pain that was far worse than what I had just gone through. My explanation switches to Carain, so that only one person – the one person here who I know I can trust with this – can understand.

"I ran to find my parents, to see if they were alright. I found them outside, alive if slightly bruised. I was worse than them; my dress was in tatters, blood and soot covered so much of my dress and my skin, and my hair was a mess. I ran up to them, telling them how glad I was that they were safe. Father said nothing and turned away. Mother made a face of disgust, and said, 'Death would have made you more presentable than this. I would have preferred it that way too.'" I tighten my hands around my knees as I realise sobs are shaking my body, the tears burning their way down my face like a burst dam.

A chair scrapes beside me before I feel myself being lifted by gentle hands, then set down on a new lap on the bed. Gray's scent of wood-smoke and spiced wine envelopes me, and I bury my face in his shirt, letting it all out knowing it will only stop on its own.

That was the worst thing she said to me. I have always dreamed of fairytale endings, more so when I was younger, and in fairytales the princess is always beautiful. If I were to get that magic, I needed to be beautiful, too. She had not only insulted me and violated the code of motherhood – to love their child unconditionally and tell them so – but had destroyed my chance at a fairytale.

On that very same night, the princess I had hoped to be heard that she had lost her prince.

Yet here he is now, embracing me, comforting me…out of pity. Yes, that must be it; he pities me because he recognises that I will never achieve my dream now, now that my ugliness has been unveiled. The rumour will probably make the rounds of the guild by noon tomorrow, and then it will spread to the whole town. People will point at me in the street, whispering to each other: 'That's her. That's the ugly one with the scars. She will never find a husband. No one will love her'…

"You're wrong."

The sentence in Carain startles me out of my depression, and pull back to look at Gray in confusion. He stares back, slowly reaching up to wipe my face of the remaining tears, like he did when we were younger.

"_**You're**_ wrong," he says again, "because I know – I can see – that you believe her. _**She's**_ wrong because there is no possible way that you have ever been anything but the stunning person I see before me, both as a girl and as the young woman that you are now. Why do you think those pigs at the café called at you earlier today?"

My heart swells at the compliment – coming from _**him**_ no less – and I laugh slightly, tightening my arms around him again.

"He's right," a different voice, in Carain, agrees with Gray's comments.

We all turn in surprise to Erza, who sits there smiling at me and Gray. The red-haired warrior reverts back to the Common Tongue. "I'm by no means as fluent as you two are, but I have studied Carain for a short time. I translated bits and pieces of that explanation, Kyani, and have gathered that you have had parental issues. Never listen to one who sounds as cruel as your mother, as Gray is right; they are almost always wrong."

I smile at her gratefully and she returns it. Her expression then turns confused with a touch of amusement turning her lips up at the corners again.

"Although, I am curious," she continues, and I raise my eyebrows at her. "Now that I have revealed that I understand a bit of Carain, I can ask you what I wanted to back at the guildhall; before you two played to us…why did you call Gray an alcoholic?"

It doesn't matter how depressed and self-deprecating I was a moment ago, that is the final straw; as Gray buries his face in my hair, his soft embarrassed chuckles ruffling my curls, I burst out laughing.

**Whoa, done, finally. Hope I didn't make you guys wait too long for this. I also hope I gave more depth to the characters; someone mentioned the fact that I was Mary-Sue-ing Kyani, but I hope I've sorted that out now, and that you realised that I needed to wait a bit, to add suspense and mystery to Kyani's past. Her insecurity is her – debatably – unreasonable hope for that magic seen in happy endings, and her self-image, made worse by her scars and her mother. I also read about people saying that Gray was a little too OOC for their liking; with the stripping and fighting Natsu in this chapter, I hope that's sorted it out to your satisfaction.**

**Keep sending me helpful reviews like that, and I'll either do my best to adjust to your requests or PM you explaining why I've done something a certain way.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


	4. Forecast: Pissed Off and Stormy

**Hey, all! Sorry this has taken so long to update! Kind of had a little bit of writer's block with this one. Anyway, it's done now, so I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**

**Chapter 4: Today's Forecast: Pissed off, with a Chance of a Storm**

**Kyani's POV**

After my little episode last night, the others stayed a little longer than they probably would do usually. Eventually we parted, and Lucy showed me around the basics of the apartment and pulled my bed out for me.

I slept better than I have in weeks.

The next morning, after making breakfast for Lucy – whilst ignoring her protests – we meet the others at the guildhall. Everything is as it was yesterday; free and happy and fun. Gray asks me silently with raised eyebrows if I'm okay – to which I reply with an affirmative – but other than that, everyone acts as if nothing happened last night. It's not even like that awkward time when everyone tries to ignore the elephant in the room but does a really bad job of talking about anything but that subject. It's as if my past makes no difference to who I am now. I'm really gratefully for that; nothing about the way they see me has changed between when we first met and the disaster of last night. I'm still just Kyani, not the weird and pathetic pyro-phobe with the ugly scars.

About midmorning, while I'm up to get another drink – although it's not Mira serving; she's gone out shopping with Makarov – I stop by the request board to see what there is, what could be my first job.

_Hmmm, if there's some kind of gardening or, even better, mining work, that would probably suit me best…._

"Seen one you like yet?"

I throw a smile over my shoulder at Gray before turning back to the board before me. "Not yet. I'm trying to find one that's obviously suited to my magic style for my first one, just to be _**really**_ safe. After that, I'll probably get a lot more adventurous."

"Hey," Gray says, "why don't you join me, Erza, Lucy and Natsu for your first job, at least? That way, you won't be alone, you'll get to know those others pretty well, and, if you have any trouble on the job – which I _**highly**_ doubt will happen, but whatever – we'll be there to give you tips and help. Plus, everyone in Fairy Tail usually has a team, anyway, so if you like us you can stay with us."

Turning to him in surprise, I almost gasp; his expression is so…uncomplicated, and innocently hopeful and happy that it's a perfect copy of the little boy I used to know. He would look at me like that when he asked if I wanted to join him in a game, or come round his house later, or come out just to spend time together.

I beam at him, ecstatic by both the image before me and the one in the future, where I'll be joining him and the others on jobs, laughing and having fun together while watching each others' backs in any fights we may encounter along the way.

"That would be great, thank you so much."

A snort comes from above and to the right. "I wouldn't bother getting so excited, little newbie; you're probably just another weakling, anyway."

Even though the insult was directed at me, the voice had the loud quality of arrogance, and so many people – not just Gray and I – look up at the source. When they all spy the culprit, a mixture of anger and fear spreads across their faces, varying in the levels of each depending on the self-confidence of the individual. Gray's face, I see after a quick glance, contains the frozen fury one would expect from an Ice wizard.

I turn back to inspect the culprit. I know exactly who this guy is, but the infamous Laxus, Makarov's grandson, isn't exactly friendly enough to give a full photo-shoot or interview for _Sorcerer Weekly_ – hence why I'm not fazed by the insult at all; it's normal for him – and I have the guy in the flesh in front of me.

Fairly biggish stature, although most of that could be made by his thick fluffy coat, worn across his shoulders and over his purple shirt and casual trousers. Banana yellow hair spiked up to ridiculous proportions. Metal plates over each ear with one spike in each. And an air of smothering obnoxiousness to match his malicious smile. Even the stones around him cackle along with his cruel attitude, but, interestingly, hint at a different time, a different Laxus.

I fix my concentration back on the current Laxus as he laughs again, jumping down from the second floor to land among us, looking away from me and towards the guild in general.

"What's the point in recruiting more members? They're all gonna be as pathetic as you are, anyway. You're never going to get big-timers from this guild with all you losers here; you drive 'em all away with your mediocrity. You guys think you're the best? Don't make me laugh! Fiore's Number One Guild consists of me and possibly Mystogan."

"Shut the hell up, Laxus!" Gray fumes, his fists clenched at his sides. "You're not welcome here, anyway; no one wants you here!"

Laxus turns to him, his expression amused and incredulous. "What's with the sudden defensiveness, Fullbuster? Did I offend your pathetic weakling girlfriend?"

Gray growls in response, and cold starts to emanate from his fists as they hiss with his magic.

_That's pretty hot_, I admit to myself.

Laxus's grin widens, and he leans closer, his eyes wild. Even without his magic actually sparking around him, you can still feel it crackling.

"You want a fight, Gray? Come on, kid; take a shot at me."

Gray's fists begin to shake in contained rage, and I can only see his profile, but he still seems ready to actually do just that: take a swing at Laxus. Gray's smart, which is why he hasn't taken a swing yet, but he can also be really proud and defensive of his friends. He has no plan…whereas I do.

"Forget him!" a voice cracks out, although neither Laxus nor Gray move. Natsu dashes out to Laxus's side, summoning his flame, which I try not to flinch at. "Forget him, Laxus! Fight me instead!"

Not moving his eyes from Gray, Laxus stretches out a hand, palm facing Natsu. Lightning streaks out of it, knocking Natsu straight back into the wall. He collapses to the floor, out cold from the impact.

_Bastard,_ I think. _He's definitely going down for that one._

But I still need to stop Gray; that attack probably only provoked him further, and I need him to get out of the way. I won't let him get caught in the middle of this. He won't get hurt just because I want a moment to put a jackass in his place. And to show off, I'll admit.

Out of sight of Laxus, I gently place my hand on Gray's lower back, reminding him of my presence and of his sense. His fists stop trembling, but it still takes him a few seconds to stop his magic and lower his hands, his eyes downcast and furious. He does stop, though, and that's all that matters.

Laxus throws his head back and roars with laughter. "I told you! This bozo, who is supposed to be on 'Fairy Tail's Strongest Team', doesn't even have the guts – or the strength in the first place! – to pick a fight with me! You guys make me sick with your weakness." He swivels his gaze back to me. "So you're probably no better. Don't let them fool you, and don't fool yourself; you're a feeble little failure, and you always will be."

With a shock, I realise just how and why those words sound familiar; those were effectively the words of my mother for every day of my life. I was never anything to her. It didn't matter how well I did in anything, it was never good enough, and, eventually, she just stopped looking at the stuff that I did, writing it off as an automatic failure simply because she expected it to be. The task was completed by a failure, so why should it be successful in any stretch of the imagination?

Trying not to wince at Laxus's unintentional connotations of his words, I simply stared at him. Not quite blankly, but not showing any reaction to his insults either. In the end, after barely twenty seconds in that state, Laxus frowned at me.

"What the hell are _**you**_ looking at?"

I feign surprise, like I had been engrossed in something and his voice had startled me out of my musings, before ducking my head sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," I smile sweetly. "It's just that…."

I point at his face, pausing there for dramatic tension before saying something I don't think anyone is expecting: "Your earphones are really cool."

Laxus blinks at me, and I hear Gray and others gasp in surprise. I can feel Gray's eyes on me, trying to suss out what I'm doing, but I don't break my façade just yet.

"What?" Laxus questions, still not able to believe his ears. I can hear it in his voice; his disbelief and frustration are mingling, and with the adrenaline and anger he's pent up in his previous speech, it shouldn't take too much to push him over the edge.

I decide to go for broke. Again, pretending to be sheepish, I apologise again. "Sorry, if you were saying something before you might have to say it again; I was too distracted by your earphones to pay attention to any of it."

Now, on the surface, everything is totally innocent. I have just complimented Laxus for something, but admitted that he may have to repeat something that he said because they were cool enough to distract me completely from what he was saying. Underneath, I know that he's too bigheaded to take being ignored – for any reason – in a good way, especially since he was insulting everyone in the room and then also me _**directly**_. For me to say that that had no effect on me because I was paying attention to something so trivial and silly as earphones…. Well, I know he's not going to be too happy about that. Laxus isn't completely stupid either, so he can see that I knew all of that, that I had planned the whole thing. The dropped front and knowing smile on my face probably just cements the whole thing.

He leans closer again, pushing Gray to the side so he can tower over me with his glare in full force.

"You must be pretty stupid to pick a fight with me, kid," he growls.

I shrug, never taking my eyes off him and keeping a relaxed stance. "Probably. And yet I'm still not as stupid as your hair."

"Kyani," Gray warns sharply as Laxus's scowl deepens and his magic starts rising again.

My eyes never leave Laxus's face. "It's okay, Gray; he won't hurt me. I've seen his type before; all talk, boasting of this great power that he's got but never shows it off. Where's the proof then, Laxus? Show me how stupid I'm being. Come on, kid," I echo his earlier words, "take a shot at me."

A pin dropping would have sounded like an explosion. The entire guild froze with baited breath, waiting to see what would happen, how Laxus would react to this one newbie who was insane enough to challenge him. I can practically feel Gray quivering, so desperate to jump in and stop this whole thing but not wanting to make a move that would break this tense ceasefire we have going on. Laxus's magic, still only ethereal, sizzles against my skin, the threat of a lightning storm to rain on the ground. My own masochistic excitement and self-confident defiance crackles and snaps out to meet the magic, probably surprising it enough to momentarily stop its striking.

After a short amount of time of mutual inertia, I smile, definitely _**not**_ sweetly this time.

"I knew it," I say, turning on my heel and walking away from him, alongside the back of the guild along the bar, where fewer people are. "I know what you're like, Laxus."

A furious fizzing sounds behind me, and a half-uttered cry – probably from Gray, judging by the voice – reaches me before a hot and sharp pain stabs me in the back before engulfing my entire body, making it spasm wildly while flinging me forward hard into the wall.

Even as I fall to the ground, grunting in pain, I push myself up with a victorious smile on my face.

"Like I said," I gasp, "I know what you're like, Laxus. You wouldn't let an insult like that slide, but you're too much of a coward to shoot someone when they're looking you in the eye. You have to aim at their back instead, like the dishonourable coward you are!"

The lightning sparking around his frame flares up with his fury, and I barely have time to prepare myself before I'm struck again, sending me flying across the room before landing heavily on a table and feeling it crack under the impact. Over my groans, I can hear the others calling out to me, commanding or even begging for Laxus to stop even as the majority run from our rapidly expanding battleground. Making the effort to drag my head to look at the others, I see Gray's face first, as do I hear his voice above all the rest. He looks totally ready for a fight now – his face a mask of rage and, surprisingly, fear, his magic ready in his fists once again – but Erza seems to be holding him back, her expression similar to his but some kind of understanding in there as well.

_Yeah_, I approve silently, hoping she can hear me somehow. _Keep him away. Don't let him get caught in the crossfire of this. He doesn't understand what I'm doing. Keep him safe._

A huge crashing noise reminds me of the presence of my attacker, and I stumble up to face him as he comes crackling my way. Laxus is proud, so he'll probably keep attacking, but he's not stupid; if he notices I'm not even _**trying**_ to fight back he might get suspicious. He probably won't guess what I'm going to do, but he may not continue with the momentum I need him, too. If he stops attacking me before I'm ready, this whole fight would have been wasted, and that would kind of suck considering the injuries I'm sporting already.

_So that means I should hit the guy? Awesome, I'll take that task._

In response to those thoughts, I take a stance lower down, taking a more offensive stance and stabilising myself at the same time. Keeping my game face of "I'm still going to beat you up" – which I am – I call my magic, sensing my magic circle appear below me, casting a cool glow on my person and expression (or so I've been told). Before Laxus's sense gains control over his pride and makes him actually put up a defence, I bend my knees even further, crouching on the ground with my fingertips and palms of my fingerless gloves in contact with it, preparing my attack and gaining confidence from its solidarity even as I'm about to change it. Grabbing at nothing but air just above the ground like I would a carpet, I tug backwards and forwards harshly and quickly. Again, just like a carpet albeit with a great rumbling sound, the wave I created continues along the ground until it reaches Laxus, where it flings him up in the air, flipping him upside down. The attack takes him by surprise, and he doesn't react in time to defend himself; as he's unprotected in the air, I spring up, calling my magic once again. Stones from all around fly up to my right leg, compacting themselves to create a shell around my leg. Still leaping towards him, I aim for his unprotected side, swinging my leg with the extra power of my magic.

"Earth-bound Kick!"

With the added speed and strength of the kick, it knocks his breath straight out of him and launches him powerfully into tables and, finally, the wall. The dust of his landing hangs in the air a little longer, and as I land, I scuff my still-encased leg on the floor, and all the stones suddenly find themselves detached again and flying as individual missiles into the dust-cloud. Lightning sparks out to shatter them to join the dust-cloud, and I have just enough time to call a small shield from the floor before a single bolt strikes out at me. My brain barely registers that I'm airborne before I'm suddenly and painfully not, and, once again, I fall dazed to the floor. Through the haze I hear footsteps approaching, and I gasp for air as fingers close tight around my throat, lifting me off the floor. My legs kick at the air uselessly beneath me, and my fingers grab and nails scratch desperately at his tough fist.

"You crossed me for the last time, weakling," he snarls.

"No!" Gray's voice screams.

But even if Erza weren't stopping him – oh, I really hope she's still stopping him – Gray can do nothing in time for the lightning to be charged straight down and through my body. I convulse both voluntarily and not from the pain and intrusion of something that's not supposed to be in my body in that intensity. Despite having very little air, I still expel enough to create a decent scream. It's not faked. If I open my eyes, my entire vision is blocked by streaks of light intense enough to blind me, and they feel like they're completely short-circuiting my brain, seeming to hit all pain receptors at once continuously. He doesn't let up either; he just keeps striking me.

_That's it,_ I think dimly, a glimmer of hope in the agony. _Keep it coming, big guy; you'll regret it later._

After an eternity, the lightning stop suddenly, and I'm held, gasping, up by my neck for a few seconds before he simply lets go, dropping me on the ground like he'd drop something in the bin. The impact sends me into a brief coughing fit, and I spit blood onto the floor before lying still, crumpled in the rubble of a smashed bench.

As Laxus starts to walk away and Gray calls out my name and rushes towards me, I check my body for how much the former had shocked me, how much I had stored. I groan out loud in despair and pain; not enough. There's not enough here.

But a residual spark shoots through me, jerking my body slightly before zapping into the store with the others that I had absorbed. I gasp; that's it. That's enough.

As Gray comes closer I push myself up, and he stops short, his eyes wide at my devilish, excited and possibly-prematurely triumphant smile, my wild eyes, and the simple sight of me looking a lot better than I had a few moments ago and certainly better than I should be right now. He steps back as I haul myself to my feet.

The sound of my recovery reaches Laxus, and he turns, his expression obviously incredulous.

"Hey, Laxus," I say breathlessly, pausing to cough and spit more blood, "have you ever watched a lightning storm?" I laugh-cough. "No, of course you haven't, because why would you? You can create your own whenever you want to. And I knew that."

He glares as I smirk at him.

"I knew that, and so I knew you wouldn't have seen what sometimes happens."

I shake my hands out to my sides, drawing on the storage I have inside me, powering myself up with it.

"You see, in a lightning storm, the sky strikes down at the ground, again and again and again and again, until it seems like it won't ever stop, and there's nothing the ground can do to stop the onslaught. But, actually, every once in a while, the ground has received enough electricity from the sky's lightning that it gets charged, too."

I let the power fill me up, focussing it to my arms to try and control it as much as I can, which is not much. It starts building up enough that you can hear a hum in my arms, and Gray backs away even further.

"And, you see, when that happens, the ground has actually gained enough electricity…" I place my hands together in front of me, palm to palm, fingers straight, my arms outstretched to create a line, a cannon, in front of me, pointed directly at a stunned Laxus.

"…To strike back at the sky," I grin before shouting: "Everybody get down!"

I can't tell you what happens around me. All I can perceive is this power – this foreign power – charging back through my body and down my arms, this time as green lightning, concentrated as a single intense, wild, roaring stream focussed straight in Laxus's direction. This lightning has been manipulated by my power, but it's still not mine, and my body still complains of its use, but I put that aside and shake off the haziness of what it was doing to my head and focus on keeping this weapon pointed in the same direction.

Eventually, my stores run dry, and my weapon finishes firing, and my body gives up; I collapse onto the floor, having gone through too much abuse, from both Laxus and myself and to both my mind and my body. As I lie there breathing heavily in the nearly terrifying silence after the deafening chaos of only moments ago, I hear everyone start to sit up and mutter, search around in the dust for each other and for me and Laxus. But, with my ear pressed to the floor, I can also hear heavy footfalls getting closer.

"Kyani?" Gray's voice calls out.

I realise too late that these footsteps don't belong to him. I don't even have the energy to defend myself anyway. Even as my body hangs limp, a howl of pain rips up my throat as I'm picked up not by my neck but my hair. I prise my eyes open as the rest of my face is screwed up in pain, and the enraged and battered face of Laxus appears, his eyes practically rabid as smoke rises around him, probably from his singed clothing.

"You little bitch!" he spits.

"Laxus!" Gray and Erza call out, one after the other, and I see them as the dust clears.

"Laxus, stop it! Let her go!" Gray's voice cracks even as his face suggests only anger. He readies his magic in his fists once again.

"This has gone on long enough, Laxus! You've both done your part, now leave!" Erza agrees.

Laxus turns to Gray. "This is your fault, Fullbuster; you started all this." He raises his hand towards Gray.

Struggling wildly, desperately, I try to pull his hand down or distract him enough to divert his attention back to me. Failing. "No!" I beg. My struggling pulls harder on the roots of my hair, and I cry out again. My head's being split open!

Laxus calls his magic. I can feel it building again. But Gray's just standing there!

"Gray!" I scream.

"Enough!"

The world freezes again. Even Laxus pauses in his attack. As I look in the direction of the door – as much as I can without turning my head – I almost weep in relief. Those shadows on the floor; they've got to be Mira and the Master.

"Gramps!" Gray gasps, poorly concealed relief in his voice.

"M-master," Erza stammers, probably chastised to be caught like this by him.

He says nothing, but steps further into the guildhall.

"Let her go, Laxus! Put her down! This fight is over!" he barks with the authority only a guild-master possesses.

Laxus's eyes narrow again as he glares harder, and a growl of frustration forces its way between his clenched teeth. He takes one last contemptuous and disgusted look at me before throwing me aside, hurling me across the room again by my hair, and I grunt as I hit the ground, rolling over once before coming to a stop, my breathing laboured.

Only once Laxus has left via a lightning bolt, throwing a sour-grapes-like, "You guys are wimps, anyway," over his shoulder does Gray move, dashing over to my limp body.

"Kyani? Can you hear me?" That same fear in his tone again. What has he got to be afraid of now that Laxus has gone?

"Y…yeah," I groan. "My injuries aren't life-threatening but they're noticeable. Also, using that kind of magic has messed up my body; I don't have any energy to move. It doesn't help that that attack used up a decent amount of my magic."

Gray sighs and takes my wrist carefully in his hand before bending down and wrapping my arm around his shoulder. As he stands, he pulls me up with him, and I try to put my feet underneath me. I smile weakly at everyone – trying to ignore their disbelieving stares – and glance around at the destruction within the guild. I groan again, looking apologetically at Makarov.

"I'm not going to get kicked out of the guild for destruction of property, am I?"

Makarov grins. "It's a familiar enough sight to not be worth punishment. However, challenging Laxus to a fight and holding your own is more unusual, and using his own attacks against him is completely original. You'll go far, my dear. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

His gaze shifts to Gray. "Now take her to the clinic, Gray. I'm sure that rest and time to recover her magic will do her more good than asking for Poluchka to take a look at her. If her injuries are tended to in basic ways, she will be fine."

Even as my injuries and my body complain, my mind and my heart are both punching the air in victory.

_That was so much fun._

**So, that was chapter 4 :D Sorry it's taken so long, again, but thank you to all who have stuck with this fanfic so far despite all the update delays :) Your loyalty and comments mean a lot to me; the fact that people can enjoy reading what I love writing is the best feeling in the world. Anyway, if you think it's good enough and/or want to read more, leave a little review. Even if it's just "Keep writing", that's all I need to hear.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


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